Maria Sibylla Merian (1647 - 1717)

A German-born naturalist and scientific illustrator, a descendant of the Frankfurt branch of the Swiss Merian family. Merian was one of the first naturalists to observe insects directly.

In 1699 Merian travelled to Dutch Surinam to study and record the tropical insects. In 1705 she published Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium. Few color images of the New World were printed before 1700, and Merian's Metamorphosis has been credited with influencing a range of naturalist illustrators.

Because of her careful observations and documentation of the metamorphosis of the butterfly, she is considered by David Attenborough to be among the most significant contributors to the field of entomology. She was a leading entomologist of her time and she discovered many new facts about insect life through her studies.

Today, while Merian has experienced reinvigorated fame in the eyes of the art and science communities, some of her work has finally been accurately re-attributed to her daughters, Dorothea and Johanna. Joanna Helena Herolt often did not receive credit for her artwork because they were created in collaboration with her mother. Similarly, Dorothea Maria Graff's images have only recently been accredited to the German painter: Sam Segal has re-attributed 30 or 91 folios in the British Museum.

Known for
Two-volume series on caterpillars (1679, 1683), illustrated and describing life cycle and metamorphosis

Color images from the "new world" (Suriman) (1705)

popular author: books went into several reprintings, continuing after her death

peripatetic life, including time with the Labadist Protestanad commune.

Find more
Wikipedia

Summer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria Merian

Finding Wonders: Three Girls Who Changed Science

The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science

Girls Who Looked Under Rocks: The Lives of Six Pioneering Naturalists